Typically, utilizing a master gaming controller, a gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or an indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, such as bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including key pads, button pads, card readers, and ticket readers, to determine the wager amount, and initiate game play. After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game. The operations described above may be carried out on the gaming machine when the gaming machine is operating as a “stand alone” unit or linked in a network of some type to a group of gaming machines.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, more and more gaming services are being provided to gaming machines via communication networks that link groups of gaming machines to a remote computer, such as a host server, that provides one or more gaming services. As an example, gaming services that may be provided by a remote computer to a gaming machine via a communication network of some type include player tracking, accounting, cashless award ticketing, lottery, progressive games, and progressive games or prizes. These services and features are provided in addition to the games that are available for play on the gaming machines.
Within a gaming establishment, networked gaming machines are typically organized into clusters or “banks ” Normally, each bank will have an associated network device and each gaming machine will be in communication with the network device. For example, a wire or cable from each gaming machine may be physically connected to a port of the network device. Although various types of network devices may be used for this purpose, a switch is most commonly used. For the sakes of convenience and simplicity, a device so deployed will be referred to herein as a “switch.”
As networks of gaming machines become larger and more complex, it can be challenging to manage these networks. One management issue arises, for example, when a gaming machine is moved from one bank to another. Currently, when a gaming machine is moved from one bank to another, a technician will make a record of moving the gaming machine, generally on paper. The record will be submitted to a gaming network administrator, who will manually change a database of switches and associated gaming machines according to the record(s) submitted. Although such a database can take many forms, it will sometimes be referred to herein as a “connectivity table.”
There are a number of shortcomings in the foregoing method. For example, the technician who moves the gaming machine may neglect to make a record of the move. If the technician makes the record, he or she may forget to submit the record to the gaming network administrator or the record may be misplaced or misdirected. Even if the gaming network administrator receives the record, the administrator may fail to update the connectivity table or may make an erroneous update. For the foregoing reasons and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide novel methods and devices for managing gaming machine networks that address these and other limitations of the prior art.